CommunityReaction

By John Roycroft

THE south west inner city may lose out on valued jobs and investment due to the Department of Environment’s delay in giving the green light to an urban renewal plan for the area.

John Gallagher of South West Inner City Network (SWICN) expressed the network’s disappointment with the delay of the Liberties/Coombe IAP.

The Network had a meeting with Minister responsible for the scheme, Bobby Molloy, before Christmas where they expressed their desire to the delegation to ratify the area plan. Molloy told the Network that the removal by the European Commission of rent and rate allowances had complicated the decision.

Despite hopes from Dublin Corporation and local community groups such as SWICN that the plan would be accepted this week, a source in the Department of Environment told The Liberty that any such decision was "not immanent."

John Gallagher believes that "developers will not invest in the area if they do not know what incentives they can avail of. A lot of the plan relied on the rent and rate incentives and we have no way of knowing how their removal will affect the plan as long as it’s not ratified."

Labour Councillor Dermot Lacey has also been critical of the delay. "SWICN and other local community groups have put a lot of work into this plan, and it’s unfair that their dynamism is put on hold."